How do you find your rental listings? (I can pretty much access any listing an agent can on Zillow or Street Easy, right?)
A lot of people are confused about this.
There are a few catches. First, many of the listings on many of the better sites are posted by agents (sometimes landlords, but more often, at best, agents on behalf of landlords) so going through StreetEasy doesn't mean you're bypassing the agent, it simply means you're the one going to the agent and the agent is coming to you with his or her select listings. On the other hand, if it's an open listing, any agent can promote it and each one of those agents is free to show the place and put in applications. This is where I suspect "on market" apartment listings get inflated for the consumer. Think about it:
If you were an agent and had a choice between viewing an CYOF* $1800 listing which will probably be gone by the time you list it, and a $7000 one where the landlord is offering you a whole month of rent for bringing a client, which are you going to invest time and money promoting? (note: CYOF means collect your own fee.)
All of this said, understand that in order for an agent to be worth his or her weight in gold, the agent has to be adding some kind of value-added service, and the service has to be for you specifically. This means knowing where to look and what to do when the hits aren't promising.
The fact is finding listings are easy. Finding listings that are still available and getting the application through and approved is another story. Competence, resourcefulness and speed are where it all begins. For that reason, I spend hours a day looking over broker blasts, monitoring my brokerage's intranet and studying the latest listings on the listing services. On a day to day basis I also strive to become better aware of the landlords and their specific niches. This helps me pass listings on to the client while they're still fresh. For example, it's OK for you the client to search by "criteria" and hope to find things. As the agent, I have to say, "Wait, that looks like something Landlord X would be offering..."
Yep... landlords have portfolios, and once you get to know them, you're like a hound on the trail of a scent.
To this extent, not every search is the same.
Fresh listings aside, consider some scenarios:
Imagine this: The agent sends you a listing, but forgot to set the search parameters. You notice that the unit has already been on market for weeks (or even almost a year.) That means you'll likely be able to talk down the asking price, right? More likely, not. Most likely its a unit that was rented out ages ago, and simply never got taken down. A waste of time!
Or how about this: You put the inquiry in on Friday. The agent gets back to you on Monday (busy weekend!) and you suggest viewing it some time next week. Not a good idea. If you really wanted that unit, you should have viewed it a week ago. If the agent wanted your biz, he or she should likely have searched and replied right when your lead came in.
And here's another scenario: You move quickly, but the agent doesn't or you fail to fill out the application in its entirety and the agent doesn't even look it over. The agent submits it, and the landlord rejects it. The agent should have let you know about the missing information from the get go. Yes, you made the mistake, but who's the professional? Who's supposed to be on your side?
So in the end my advice is simple. Do what I do. Be resourceful. Look on your own. Network... and yes, ask an agent such as myself how he or she can do better. There's nothing wrong with that, but remember, this: They don't call it apartment hunting for nothing.
There are a few catches. First, many of the listings on many of the better sites are posted by agents (sometimes landlords, but more often, at best, agents on behalf of landlords) so going through StreetEasy doesn't mean you're bypassing the agent, it simply means you're the one going to the agent and the agent is coming to you with his or her select listings. On the other hand, if it's an open listing, any agent can promote it and each one of those agents is free to show the place and put in applications. This is where I suspect "on market" apartment listings get inflated for the consumer. Think about it:
If you were an agent and had a choice between viewing an CYOF* $1800 listing which will probably be gone by the time you list it, and a $7000 one where the landlord is offering you a whole month of rent for bringing a client, which are you going to invest time and money promoting? (note: CYOF means collect your own fee.)
All of this said, understand that in order for an agent to be worth his or her weight in gold, the agent has to be adding some kind of value-added service, and the service has to be for you specifically. This means knowing where to look and what to do when the hits aren't promising.
The fact is finding listings are easy. Finding listings that are still available and getting the application through and approved is another story. Competence, resourcefulness and speed are where it all begins. For that reason, I spend hours a day looking over broker blasts, monitoring my brokerage's intranet and studying the latest listings on the listing services. On a day to day basis I also strive to become better aware of the landlords and their specific niches. This helps me pass listings on to the client while they're still fresh. For example, it's OK for you the client to search by "criteria" and hope to find things. As the agent, I have to say, "Wait, that looks like something Landlord X would be offering..."
Yep... landlords have portfolios, and once you get to know them, you're like a hound on the trail of a scent.
To this extent, not every search is the same.
Fresh listings aside, consider some scenarios:
Imagine this: The agent sends you a listing, but forgot to set the search parameters. You notice that the unit has already been on market for weeks (or even almost a year.) That means you'll likely be able to talk down the asking price, right? More likely, not. Most likely its a unit that was rented out ages ago, and simply never got taken down. A waste of time!
Or how about this: You put the inquiry in on Friday. The agent gets back to you on Monday (busy weekend!) and you suggest viewing it some time next week. Not a good idea. If you really wanted that unit, you should have viewed it a week ago. If the agent wanted your biz, he or she should likely have searched and replied right when your lead came in.
And here's another scenario: You move quickly, but the agent doesn't or you fail to fill out the application in its entirety and the agent doesn't even look it over. The agent submits it, and the landlord rejects it. The agent should have let you know about the missing information from the get go. Yes, you made the mistake, but who's the professional? Who's supposed to be on your side?
So in the end my advice is simple. Do what I do. Be resourceful. Look on your own. Network... and yes, ask an agent such as myself how he or she can do better. There's nothing wrong with that, but remember, this: They don't call it apartment hunting for nothing.
